The Darkness
by my shangri-la
Summary: Casey hasn't dated anyone since Max had broken up with her three months ago...or has she? When Lizzie and Edwin find out her secret, they need Derek to bring her back form the darkness that she has let overtake her. Will he be able to save her from hersel
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own. Makes me sad. Hope you like it anyways.

Review, review, review. Please?

The Darkness

Summary: Casey hasn't dated anyone since Max had broken up with her three months ago...or has she? When Lizzie and Edwin find out her secret, they need Derek to bring her back form the darkness that she has let overtake her. Will he be able to save her from herself, and in the process, realize that maybe she can save him too?

Chapter One (Casey's POV)

It was the end of May, and school was coming to an end in a few weeks. Casey McDonald had been throwing herself into her schoolwork for the past few months. It was her way of coping with Maz dumping her at the end of April for some floozy cheerleader. That's not to say that she wouldn't have worked hard anyways, it was the end of her junior year, and she knew high marks were important. And from her they had also come to be expected. She worked hard for her grades, but she was currently using them as a distraction to keep herself from thinking. And feeling. That was probably where the problem started. In her head that is. She had tried simply wishing her responsibilities away, but she 

couldn't. She still felt like she had to live up to everyone's expectations: perfect daughter, perfect sister, perfect student, perfect dancer. She wanted very much to escape from it all. It was during one of these self-reflective times, that she had taken a walk that would irreversibly change her life forever. This was not a metaphorical walk by any means, but an actual walk. A walk that led her to HIM. Jake Daniels.

He was harsh, rugged, very sexy, tan, short, straight black hair, prominent jaw, dangerous green eyes. Everything a "bad boy" should be. He wasn't a boy though. He was 22 years old. She, at age 17, new that he could provide the distraction that she so desperately needed in her ordered life. She had been immediately drawn to him that afternoon. She had been walking for about an hour, wandering far past her usual scene in town. This street that she had been walking down, held a few pubs, diners, and clubs admitting ages 17 and up. She saw him come out of the pub named THE LUCKY CHARM. She watched him as she leaned against a building that was now an empty warehouse. She saw him looking at her, she smiled flirtatiously back. She was thrilled when he parted from his buddies and walked towards her.

He came and leaned on the building next to her. "Hi. I'm Jake Daniels. Your name?" He motioned to take her hand.

"Casey McDonald. Nice to meet you." She shook his hand and smiled. "Do you live around here? Because I've never seen you before. And trust me, I would remember someone as pretty as you." He winked.

She blushed. "No, I live in the suburbs right before town. I was taking a walk, and I ended up all the way over here. Not that I mind though." She looked at him pointedly.

"Well I certainly don't mind either. How old are you anyways?"

"I'll be eighteen in two months... What about you?"

"I just turned twenty-two. My uncle owns the pub over there. That's where I work. Ya know, if you're looking for a job, we're hiring right now." He looked at her expectantly.

"I'm not eighteen yet. Would I be allowed to work in a bar? And besides, I couldn't work until the second week of June. I have finals the next two weeks."

"Sounds great. My uncle Dave would waive the age limit for you I think since it would only be for a month. Wanna come in?" He motioned across the street.

She shrugged. "Sure that would be great."

Casey followed Jake into THE LUCKY CHARM. He took her into the back office. His uncle could only be described as someone who was in the mafia. However, when he saw Jake, he smiled. Casey was able to stop panicking and was thrilled when Jake introduced them.

"Uncle Johnny, this is Casey McDonald. Your new bar girl." He turned to her. "Casey, this is Johnny Daniels. He's my dad's brother."

Casey looked at the man who was probably a foot and a half taller than her. "It's nice to meet you. Jake told me that you were hiring and might give me a job. I wouldn't be able to start until the second week of June because of finals, and I turn eighteen in 

July. He said you might waive the age limit seeing as it would only be a month. That is, of course if you're willing to hire me. I worked as a waitress at Smelly Nelly's for a month, but I wasn't trained extensively."

Johnny looked at her. "Sure. Ya know what? I like you. You can start June 12th. Come in next Saturday, I'll have the papers drawn up by then. We can figure out your hours."

"Thank you so much!"

No problem. Now both of you scram. I have work to do."

They left the pub, Casey with a new job intact. She turned to Jake. "Thank you." She looked at her watch. It was 5:00pm. "I have to go. Sorry but I have a long walk home." She turned to go.

"Hey." He reached for her arm. "Let me give you a ride. At least to the edge of town."

"Are you sure?" He nodded. "Okay." She followed him until he stopped in front of a Kawasaki motorcycle. He grinned at the look on her face. He handed her the extra helmet an hopped on. "C'mon. You'll be fine. I promise."

She looked skeptical, but got on anyways, noticing the street sign. 51rst Street. "If you could just give me a ride to 10th Street, I'd appreciate it." He nodded. The engine roared to life. Casey held tightly to his waist as they peeled off. Twenty minutes later he pulled over at the corner of 9th and 10th Street. She took off her helmet and slid off, finally releasing her tight grip on him. He looked at her. "I can't believe you walked this far." 

She laughed. "Yeah, I was distracted. I didn't realize how far I was until I saw you. You were hard to miss."

"So were you." He winked at her again. She could get used to this. "Can I have your number? Ya know, in case my uncle needs to get ahold of you before Saturday... or if I want to talk to you again?"

"Only if I can have yours too." She grinned. They swapped numbers, and Jake said,"See ya around, Casey."

"Bye." He pulled out, and she turned to walk the rest of the way home. at 5:45pm, she walked into her house. It was Saturday night, everyone was home by now and her mom was making dinner while talking to her step-father George. Casey walked into the kitchen.

"I'm home." They replied, and she said, I'm going to my room. Call me when dinner's ready, please."

She walked up the stairs, towards her room. She was playing with her phone, when she ran into something...well, someone.

"Derek, watch out!" She quickly walked around him straight into her room. She tried to shut her door, but it bounced off of his outstretched hand, and he walked into her room and leaned against the wall by her door. "What do you want, Derek? Because if you're just here to annoy me, you can get out now." She went to grab a cd, and she put it in the cd/radio, turning it up loud enough to hopefully get her step-brother to get out. He didn't. She turned around to see him standing there smirking at her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

(Derek's POV)

I didn't realize it at the time, but this was the day of Casey's turning point. It was a turning point for our whole family really, but I wasn't aware of that either. The day had started off normal, for me at least. Until I realize that something was missing. Casey. Where was she all day? I didn't find out until it was almost too late. I had gone to hockey practice this morning, leaving earlier than I would have liked to even be awake. I got home around 1:00pm. Around 3pm, I started to wonder where Casey was. I hadn't seen her all day. I shrugged it off, thinking maybe she was just next door with Emily, her best friend. But at 6:00, Emily called asking for Casey. I had no idea where she was.  
A little while later I decided to go ask where she was.Not that I cared, I just wanted to know how she had managed to find someone else to hang out with. As I was walking out of my room to find out, I walked smack into Casey. Her hair looked wind-blown in an odd way. Like she had been riding in a convertible with the top down. She doesn't know anyone with a convertible. So, I followed her into her room, avoiding getting hit in the face by the door. I wanted some answers.

She was ignoring me. I couldn't believe it. So, i stood there. Even after she had turned her music up. I stared at her until she looked at me again. She finally turned around. "WHAT?" She was clearly annoyed. I shut her door and went over and turned down her music. I looked around to find her at her door which was opened again. "Derek, get out."

"Not until you tell me where you were today. Emily called for you half an hour ago, so don't even try saying you were over there."

"I went for a walk. Not that it's any of your business. Now get out!" She was hiding something. I knew it.

"Case, I haven't seen you since last night. You were gone before I even went to hockey practice. Where could you have been walking all day? I thought maybe you were at the library, but from the looks of your hair, you were doing something very un-Casey like." I laughed as she looked in the mirror and groaned when she saw her tangled hair. She grabbed her brush, yanking it through the knots. "So where did you really go?"

She sighed, "I told you. I went for a walk. I was downtown. It was windy today." As I opened my mouth to say something else, I heard Nora,"Kids! Time for dinner."

I opened her door and before she walked out, I said,"We'll finish this later. I know your up to something. And I'd rather know now, so I'm prepared to bail you out of whatever trouble you're going to get yourself into." She glared at me as I walked out. Yeah. She was diving into trouble head first. After dinner I decided to do some snooping.

Casey had gone to Emily's that night to watch some movies, I was grateful that I had at least two hours to look around. I searched through her entire room. I didn't find a thing. Her journal hadn't been updated for a few days. And I never would have guessed to look in her phone, even though she had it with at the time. That was a month and a half ago...

On our first real day of summer, during dinner she announced 

that she had gotten a job for the summer,our whole family had been surprised. She said that she would be working at the desk of the hotel downtown. Obviously our parents were thrilled that she had a job,but the attention wasn't on Casey hat night. She had started Lizzie talking about her soccer camp that she was going to start. Maybe they thought it was strange that she wasn't going on about her job, but I think they chalked it up to her last debacle working as a waitress. Which might have been a legitimate statement, if she hadn't been clearly lying. Dad and Nora had always been oblivious as parents. I guess it was realistic, they did have five kids. But, honestly, Casey is the worst liar I've ever seen. And turning the attention to her sister was a total cop out. I decided to confront her after dinner. That Saturday that she had disappeared for the day, had stayed in the back of my mind. Maybe now I could figure out what was going on with her. It was true that she had seemed happier the past few weeks, even through finals. She still studied, but she wasn't as stressed as she normally would've been. It was then that I started to be concerned, not that I wasn't happy for the quiet, but it was just so... un-Casey.

I wasn't sure when it had happened. When I had started being able to read Casey like a book. I could tell when she was sad, angry(usually directed towards me), frustrated(at me), and I could tell when she was lying. The last one wasn't so hard. Just because she always looked so guilty when she was lying. It was all in her eyes. I could almost see her thoughts. And she had lied today. A whopper of a lie. I just couldn't figure out why she would lie about where she was working. Where could she possibly have gotten a job that she couldn't tell our parents about.

I had gone up to her room around 11pm that night. I was surprised that she was still awake, she always went to bed ridiculously early. I opened her door without knocking, as usual. She was on her cell phone when I walked in and sat down at her desk. She glared at me before saying she had to go, and hung up. She looked at me before she went to plug in her phone to charge. She wanted to know what I was doing in her room, but I decided to just sit there.

"What do you want, Derek?" she looked tired, so I decided to ask her.

"Why did you lie?"

"What? What are you talking about?" She was nervous. I looked at her face. Priceless. I chuckled.

"Where are you really working, Case?" She rolled her eyes, but sighed. I had really expected her to fight with me about this, but later I would understand why she told me.

"Derek...You have to swear not to tell anyone. Okay?"

I nodded.

"No, promise me."

"Okay. I promise I won't tell anyone. Now what's going on?"

"I got a job at a pub on the edge of downtown." She sighed again. What was up with that?

"You WHAT?" I started laughing. She stared at me in disbelief. 

When I realized she was serious I looked at her. "Oh... I thought you were joking..."

"Derek, I'm not kidding. That was where I was last month. You know, the day that I had been gone... I really did take a walk. I wanted to clear my head from studying. I ended up walking all the way to the edge of town. I ended up outside this pub called THE LUCKY CHARM. Anyways, long story short, I Walked out with a job over the summer. And probably during school next year..." She trailed off and looked at me.

It took me a few minutes take all this in. When I finally spoke, what came out of my mouth was not expected. "Why did you to tell me? I mean you could have just kicked me out and said it was none of my business... I'm not going to tell anyone. I just find it hard to believe that you would want to work at a place like that. Why did you tell me?"

She sat quietly for a minute, looking a little embarrassed. Why? I don't know. She's never trusted me before. She was quiet. Finally, in a soft voice I heard, "I don't know. I guess I just thought you should know. And thanks. For not saying anything, I mean." We sat there in silence for a minute. "Can you get out now? I want to go to bed."

I smirked at her. But I stood up and walked over to the door and opened it. "Goodnight, Princess Casey."

She rolled her eyes, "Goodnight, Derek."

She crawled into bed. I stopped before I closed the door. "Case?"

"Yeah?"

"I hope your job works out." Then I walked out and closed the door.

What the hell did I say that for! I have no idea. I had lost any control I had over my mouth. I smacked myself on the forehead, climbing into bed and going to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

(Casey's POV)

I know that telling Derek what I was up to, may have seemed like poor judgement on my part. After all, it was Derek. But for some reason, I had to. All because of that damn paper. What had I been thinking? Maybe I should explain. The Saturday that I had gone in to sign the papers stating my three-month contract, everything had gone smoothly. Until I got to that pesky section. EMERGENCY CONTACTS: DEREK VENTURI (step-brother). It was the only logical thing I could come up with. I had lied to my parents about my job. I couldn't call them if something happened. Not that I was anticipating what was to come, but I knew for some reason that if I needed someone, it could be Derek. Yes, he was a total jerk most of the time, but I knew that deep down he didn't hate me as much as he pretends to. Just like I don't hate him. But he hides it better I think.

A few weeks after I started working at the pub, Jake and I started dating. I didn't tell my family about him either. But this time I didn't even tell Derek. Maybe I should have...

JULY 17th

I had been working for almost four weeks. I had just had my eighteenth birthday and I was thrilled. My family had decided to stay home this summer, so I had been working five nights a week and one Saturday a month. I worked from 6-12pm every night. For some reason, my parents weren't suspicious. I think they were just glad that I could be home with the kids during the day if they needed me to, which, thankfully wasn't often. Lizzie and Edwin were going to day camp all summer, and Marti had 

daycare. I slept in late most days, barely waking up before Derek. We still weren't really friends, of course, but I had started to enjoy his company slightly. I think it was mostly because I only saw him 5-6 hours a day. But that night, it changed my life. Well this hadn't been the real turning point, I guess. But it was the day that I realized how much I had let my life change in such a short amount of time.

Jake and I had been fighting quite a bit lately. He was an extremely jealous boyfriend. Any time I served guys drinks, he would watch me. He would get angry and tell me to quit flirting. I honestly didn't think I was doing anything but being friendly. But I decided that I would be careful anyhow. That night, though, I was exhausted. I had been on my feet all night long without a break. When he came over to start yelling at me, just as I sat down on an old grey couch in the corner of the pub, I stood up. I had had enough. We were alone that night, Johnny had left me to lock up, and Jake was supposed to give me a ride home. - He did this every night, he said he didn't want me riding the bus. I had found a route near my house, and that was how I got to work to start my shift. - When he accused me of flirting AGAIN I snapped. Suddenly we were both yelling and screaming at each other. It started to remind me of the fights Derek and I had until recently. Suddenly, I had found myself up against the wall, he was still in my face, using a tone that was totally unnecessary. I pushed him back to get away from his anger. His hand grabbed my arm in an iron grip, he pulled me back so hard that I slammed against the wall. I hit my head. I gasped out from pain, and having the wind knocked out of me. He was gripping my arm so tightly it started to tingle. Before he realized what I was doing, I slapped him across the face with my free hand. Maybe that wasn't the smartest idea, but I had to get away. He was stunned enough that his hand loosened. I wrenched out of his grip. I told him to 

get out, I would ride the bus. Because I sure as hell wasn't going anywhere with him. Finally he left me alone. When I heard his motorcycle pull out, I sat down on the couch and cried. I knew the bus had left already. I was going to have to walk home. My parents were going to kill me. I controlled myself long enough to lock up; I walked out the door, I hated the idea of walking home in the middle of the night, but I was so angry that I didn't care that night. Left alone with my thoughts, I walked quickly. I made it home in forty-five minutes. It was 1:30am when I walked into my house. I finally trudged up the stairs. I threw myself onto my bed after changing into a tank-top and shorts before crying myself to sleep. I hadn't even bothered to pull the covers up.

The next day was Friday. I slept even later than usual. Derek was up, earlier than I was, seeing that I was sleeping at 1pm. I had slept for almost twelve hours. I still had my face in my pillow when Derek came in my room to make sure I was alive. I NEVER slept in this long no matter what.

"Casey? Casey, wake up." Derek was shaking my shoulder. And it hurt.

"OW! What the hell, Derek? Way to wake someone up!"

I looked at his face. He seemed confused as to why I was glaring at him. Then the entire night before came flooding back to me. I looked down at my arm. "SHIT!" I sat up. There was a bruise covering my arm the shape of Jake's hand.

Derek was still sitting on the side of my bed. He looked completely floored. I, however, had plenty to say. Just not to him. I was pissed. Jake was going to get an earful.

I looked at Derek, who still hadn't said anything. He was staring at the bruise. Not that I could blame him. It was really ugly looking.

Finally, I spoke. "Derek, I'm up. Can you get out now!" I couldn't keep the fury out of my voice. I wasn't mad at him. But I needed to make a phone call. I wanted to scream at my boyfriend.

That was enough for him to come out of his silence. When he spoke, his voice was low and scary. He was seriously pissed. I just wasn't sure why... "CASEY, HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET THAT?"

I don't know what came over me at that moment, all I know is that I wanted to handle it myself. I didn't want his help. Not with this. I was already humiliated. I was going to lie my ass off. I took a deep breath before speaking. I wanted this to sound believable.

"Derek, I know what you're thinking... this was an accident-"

"Casey! I know an accident when I see one. You ARE prone to them... But THAT doesn't look like an accident!" He spat out the last sentence. Clearly disgusted. I had to think of a good explanation, fast. His words replayed in my head. Then I had an idea.

"It was an accident," I insisted. "I was cleaning in the back, and a bucket of water got spilled. The guy that was with me saw me about to slip when he grabbed my arm. It hurts like hell, but I would rather have a bruise that a cracked skull and be in the hospital! So just back off, okay? I'm fine."

He obviously didn't believe me, but I wasn't going to tell him otherwise. He looked resigned, saying, "Are you sure you're okay?" He reached out and gently touched the bruise. I couldn't help it. I flinched. He saw my face, Slowly pulling me off the bed, out of my room, and downstairs into the kitchen. He opened the freezer, took out an ice pack, wrapped it in a towel and put it on my arm. I shivered.

He finally looked at me again. "You and I both know that I don't believe that fake story. I get that you don't want to tell me, but I'm here if you need me. Just ask."

I looked down at the counter. This was so embarrassing. How could I tell him my secret boyfriend is physchotic..."Thanks". I really did appreciate him dropping it. It's not like him to leave something alone, or to be nice enough to offer to help.

"Okay. Leave it there awhile", he motioned to the ice pack. "And eat something before you pass out." He walked out of the kitchen to watch TV in the family room. I heard the TV turn on, groaning quietly,"Damn you Jake!" I ate a bowl a cereal, then went upstairs to take a shower. As I washed my hair, I felt the knot on the back of my head. This day was just starting and is already sucked. And it was about to get worse. Getting out of the shower, I wrapped a towel around my body to blow dry my hair. After I did that, I used a smaller mirror to try to see the knot. I gasped. My back was bruised from being harshly slammed against the wall. GREAT! That was sarcasm. I was so mad. I got dressed quickly, stomping to my room, I slammed my door and locked it. I was not going to be interrupted during this phone call. I scrolled to Jake's number. I practically growled at the sight of his name. I hit the send button.

The phone rang until I heard his voicemail. I was going to hang up, but decided that I would leave a message. Then I could say my piece and not have to hear his voice. I took a breath and started venting: "Jake! You IDIOT! All of this because you thought I was FLIRTING? And I wasn't even. I was barely being nice! And now I have a huge bruise on my arm you JACKASS! And my back is blue and purple! DOn't EVEN think about picking me up tonight. I don't want to see you. AT ALL!" I slammed my phone closed, and threw it across the room. I started crying again. I had no idea what was wrong with me. I was furious, true. But I wasn't going to break up with him. At least not if he apologized.

Monday I answered the phone when Jake called. He had left six messages since Saturday. I had been ignoring him. I was so angry. I know I should have broken up with him then, but I couldn't. Somehow, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. He wasn't always like that. He treated me like a princess when we weren't fighting, and not like the sarcastic way Derek called me PRINCESS like I was stuck up. He apologized. He asked me if next Sunday he could take me out to dinner at a nice place. I said yes. I had been wary all week long, but he hadn't even been acting jealous lately. I was being careful not to tick him off, and there had been no more incidents...

Other than the fight that we had, and the petty arguments which he started by accusing me of being a flirt, life was pretty good. I loved my job, I got friendly with the usuals - not too friendly. Everyone knew that I was Jake's girl. I liked it that way. I had stopped trying to find myself; I got lost in him. It was a bad thing, I know that now. I had stopped questioning things that I wouldn't have hesitated to ask before. I was living in the 

moment, and I was happy, superficially anyhow. When I was at the pub, I didn't have to think about the future, but when it smacked me in the face, I couldn't run anymore, I hid. I closed myself off from my family. Not that it was hard. I was never home when they were. The only person who was constantly in my space was Derek. And sometimes his observations about me hit a little bit too close to home. How he could tell, I didn't understand then. I didn't realize that he could see me for who I really was, and that he actually liked me. The real me, not who I pretended to be under the facade of false perfection, and he certainly didn't see me as Jake's girl. He still didn't know about him. I mean, he probably could have guessed, but he never told me. At least not then.

That Sunday, I had gotten all dressed up for my "apology dinner". My dress was turquois, making my eyes sparkle. I had left my hair down, but it was slightly curled. I had heels and a purse to match my dress. I was wearing the new leather jacket that I had bought using my first paycheck. It might have been summer, but the nights were cool, and I wanted to be comfortable. Jake picked me up at the corner by my house. His friend Jeff, that also worked at the pub, had let us borrow his blue mazda for the night. I was grateful. I was in a dress, after all. Jake drove me about half an hour past the pub to a place called The Blue Room. We had a wonderful time. We laughed so hard. He was good at getting me to laugh. I still don't like to admit it, but he was also good at convincing me to do things, things that. if given the chance to think about it, I never would have went along with. But being with him was like being in a whirlwind. barely time to duck and cover, much less strategize on how to escape it. So when he asked me to go back to his place after dinner, to "see his apartment", I said yes without hesitation. Not even thinking about the consequences of being alone with him or getting caught 

by my parents. I had been lying to them for two months straight. They still hadn't noticed anything amiss. But as I said, I really only saw them one day a week. That was Sunday. But that night, they had a dinner party for work to go to. Derek was on a date, and Lizzie and Edwin were old enough to watch themselves and Marti until we got home.

When we arrived at his place, he poured some wine for us to drink. It was a cozy place for a bachelor pad, I guess. It had wood floors, two dark red couches, a nice kitchen, and a nice sized bedroom for a one room apartment. Yes, I know what you're thinking. I did see his bedroom. We actually spent the rest of our evening in there. Okay, no beating around the bush. I slept with him that night. We had sex. It actually wasn't my first time, my first had been Max, sadly. Believe me when I tell you that, that night, I was not pressured in the slightest. I miht have even initiated it, not that he wouldn't have at some point, but I had drank two glasses of wine since we had gotten there, and the two at the restaraunt. So, needless to say, I was at least a little drunk. But it wasn't until months later that I would regret it.

When Jake finally drove me home - I was too drunk to ride the bus - he had to take me up the driveway. He practically carried me. Derek answered the door when he knocked on the door. Had gotten home an hour ago, and was about to call my cell phone when we appeared at the door. He looked at me, horrified. I was still leaning heavily on Jake, but laughed when I saw his face. I was too drunk to comprehend the look that Derek was giving my boyfriend. So in my inebriated state, I did the unthinkable. I turned to Jake and kissed him full on the lips. Derek told me later that it seemed like he hadn't really kissed me back to begin with, mostly because he had been glaring at him, but then he kissed me until I couldn't breathe. He was trying to make a point, I 

guess. After all, Derek didn't get that Jake thought I belonged to him. I did too at that point. It wasn't one of my finest moments. Anyways, Jake had finally untangled me and handed me off to Derek. I assume this was because he just didn't want to deal with "drunk Casey". It would have been inconvenient. For him.

Derek finally got me into the house to sit me on the couch. He went into the kitchen to make me some coffee before returning to sit next to me on the couch. I had moved to the side by his chair, for some reason that had always been my favorite seat. My head was on the armrest, hair in my face. I felt my hair being pushed off of my forehead. I looked up to see Derek's eyes on me, watching my face.

"Space-Case?"

"Hmmm..?" I had been surprised at his gentle tone. I find it sweet now that I realize how much he took advantage of this situation. NO! NOT LIKE THAT! He knew that I wasn't thinking straight, and if he was going to spend the night trying to get me "un-drunk" as he so eloquently put it, he wanted to know what was going on with me.

"Case? Who was that guy that brought you home?"

"Jake... Boyfriend.." I was too tired to make sentences.

"Do you like him?" What he really wanted to know was if he had been the one to leave that bruise. But he couldn't just ask me because he knew I would deny it. He was too sneaky.

I squinted at him trying to figure out how to answer such a complex question. "Sometimes."

"How'd you get so drunk?" He was smirking at me. I was not amused.

I groaned. Rubbing my forehead, I mumbled, "Too much wine".

He chuckled. He went to get the coffee. Making me drink two cups, black...EEWW! The pried me off the couch to walk me up to my room. He went through my dresser for my pajamas. I had taken off my leather jacket and put it over the chair. He handed the pajamas, and I looked at him confused.

"You can't sleep in that dress, Case." He was right, but...

"I can't get it off", I was drunk and tired and I was unexplainably sad all the sudden. I sat on my bed. My words had come out as a whisper before I started to cry. I heard him trying to contain his laughter. I looked so pitiful, he couldn't help it.

"It's n-not funny." He stopped laughing, finally.

"Stand up."

"What?" I was not understanding anything at that point in time.

"I'm pretty sure I know how to get a dress off...you can ask around if you want." He wiggled his eyebrows. Then I understood. I burst out laughing. That's what he had been trying to get me to do.

"That's okay. If you just unzip me I can get it from there." As an afterthought I said, "And NO funny stuff!" He laughed again. I had tried to sound firm, but I had giggled at the end. But as he 

unzipped my dress we both were serious. Me because I was trying to ignore the tingles of his fingers running up and down my bare back, and he... WAIT what was he doing?

"Derek?" My voice was shaky. I don't know why I was nervous. But I couldn't turn around to look at him. His hands were still on me, sending shivers up my spine. And THEN I remembered. I had opened my mouth prepared for another argument, but he just whispered in my ear,"What happened to you, Case?" Then he walked out of my room, shutting the door behind him. I collapsed onto the floor still in my dress. How could I be so stupid. I forgot about those bruises. The one on my arm had almost gone away, and I had covered it with make-up. The ones on my back... they were fading but I didn't cover them up, because no one could see them. And I had forgotten...okay, so not exactly forgotten. But I was in denial.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

(Derek's POV)

I tried to find out what was going on with my step-sister for three months before I found out the truth. And she wasn't the one to tell me. I really had no idea how she got into such a mess. The Casey I was used to, was hard-headed, didn't take crap from people, and most importantly, demanded respect - from everyone. This is what stunned me about the relationship between her and her "boyfriend". I use that term loosely; understandable, I think, considering the circumstances.

During the third weekend in October, our parents went out of town for a wedding, they had take our younger siblings with them, leaving us alone for three days. I had hockey practice Saturday morning as usual, and I planned to go to a party that night. Casey and I only saw each other momentarily that day. She went to work early that day, filling in for someone, before starting her shift.

Surprisingly, I was still casually dating Renee. We were no where near serious, but we hung out on a regular basis. She went with me to the party that night. It was at a guy named Mike's house, he was on the hockey team with me. The party was pretty wild. The house was crowded so much that people had begun to occupy the backyard. Renee and I had made our way upstairs, someone's bedroom - we didn't really care. Just as things started heating up, my cell phone rang. I didn't recognize the number, so I ignored it a first. But just as suddenly as the ringing stopped, it started again. I climbed off the bed, leaving Renee. Whoever was on that phone was going to get an earful.

"WHAT!" I was irritated. I wasn't even going to be even remotely polite.

"Derek Venturi?" I had no idea who this guy was. He sounded scary.

"Yes? Who is this?"

"This is Johnny Daniels. I'm your sister's boss. You need to come pick her up."

"Casey? Why?"

"Because she's passed out my couch!"

I groaned. "What do you mean she's passed out on your couch?"

"Listen, kid. It would be a lot easier if you just came down to see for your self."

"Alright." I was trying not to freak out at this point. "Where are you?"

"Still at the bar. She's on the couch in the corner."

I sat on the edge of the bed, my head in my hands. "I'll be there in thirty minutes."

"Fine." He hung up.

I looked down at Renee. "I gotta go. Do you want me to take you home?"

I dropped her off at her house before speeding across town. I was confused at the situation, but the longer I drove, the angrier I got. I had no idea what I was getting into. The whole drive I spent in silence, except muttering curses under my breath. I finally got to the pub. I swung the door opened forcefully, walking in quickly before it slammed shut. I looked around as a mafia-looking man came down the hallway that leads to the restrooms.

"You must be Derek."

"Yeah. Where's Casey?"

He pointed around the corner of the bar. "She's out like a light. She's gonna have a killer hangover in the morning. I've never seen her so trashed. Not that she didn't have a reason tonight though. I wish I could have been here earlier to stop it, but it was out of control by the time I had gotten back."

I had walked across the bar to see Casey sprawled on the couch. She was on her back, one arm hanging off the edge, and the other was covering her face. Her clothes were wrinkled and her hair was sticking out everywhere.

I finally found my voice after Johnny had stopped talking. I asked the question that I haad been asking myself for months. "What the hell happened?"

He motioned for me to sit down at the bar. He walked behind it and stood across from me. "I probably shouldn't spill her business, but I'm worried about her...And you are on the list."

I looked at him confused. "What list?"

He gave me a look; I clearly should have known what was going on. "Your number was the only one she put under her emergency contacts. How did you think I got your number?"

I looked over at Casey, saying quietly, "She never told me. I figured you just found it in her cell phone or something."

"Hmmm... Okay then." He thought for a minute before telling the nights events. "I had to leave earlier tonight to send for an order, I let Casey do her thing. She's pretty amazing around here. I ended up stuck in traffic and didn't get back until after we had been closed for about an hour. So when I heard all the yelling, I was concerned. I came in to find Casey throwing things at Jake's head. - He deserved it most likely. Never did learn when to shut his mouth. - He was yelling at her about who knows what, when he called her some names that made me cringe. She was close enough to him by then, she slapped him across the face." He visibly shuddered before revealing the last piece of information. "I had heard the two of them fight before, but it had never ended so ugly..." Derek had to keep himself from rolling his eyes, remembering what had happened months ago. "For a minute they just stared at each other. I had hoped that would be the end of it, but when I saw him slap her back, I dragged him out the door and locked it."

Derek watched the man intently. It was clear that he felt horrible. "How did she end up passed out on the couch?"

Sighing, Johnny continued his story."I had told her to go sit down while I got her an ice pack. She looked like she was about to fall over then, but when I got back fifteen minutes later, she was behind the bar drinking this." He pulled out a bottle of vodka that was more that three-fourths of the way gone. "This wasn't 

opened until she started drinking."

Derek stared at the bottle until his eyes were crossed.

"She had already had several drinks throughout the night, so this pretty much did her in. I had to pry it away from her. She just stood there and cried for ten minutes. She exhausted herself so much that she collapsed. I caught her and carried her to the couch before I called you..."

"Thanks." Derek had been silent almost the whole time, but his eyes were full of gratitude. "I should probably take her home now." He stood up and was halfway to the couch before Johnny stopped him.

"Tell her not to come in until next Monday. She needs a break from all of this."

Derek nodded, "She's not gonna like that. But I'll take care of it."

"I'd appreciate it. Oh, once you get her home, make her use the ice."

Derek looked at him quizzically. "She has a black eye".

Derek walked over to Casey, who was still sleeping heavily. He moved her arm to see her face. He winced at the sight. The bruise was still an angry red on the edges of the deep purple mark that circled her eye. His hand gently touched her heated face before shaking her gently. She could sleep in the car, but he was going to make her walk out. If only so he could she that she was alright.


End file.
